Heavy rain caused localized flooding and road closures in the North Fork and Hungry Horse areas on Monday, along with Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

By Monday evening, flood-related closures remained in effect on the North Fork Road near Blankenship, the road on the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir and Sun Road near Apgar.

By 9 p.m., flooding problems had extended more widely. The National Weather Service reported flooding along Montana 40 and U.S. 2 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls as well as standing water on roadways in Columbia Falls, Hungry Horse and West Glacier. 

A flood warning was in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday for the Flathead Valley and Canyon areas, according to the Weather Service.

The weather agency listed these areas that will experience flooding: Kalispell, Evergreen, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, West Glacier, Lake McDonald, Apgar, Nyack, Creston, Hungry Horse, Martin City and Coram.  

In Glacier Park, one lane of traffic had reopened at 3 p.m. Monday on Going-to-the-Sun Road, where water had overflowed at a culvert two miles from Apgar along Lake McDonald.

Two hours later, however, Sun Road was closed again to all traffic except for travelers who had reservations at Lake McDonald Lodge or Sprague Campground.

Heavy rains had fallen steadily in the area throughout the weekend, with continued precipitation in the forecast this week.

The North Fork area received about six inches of rain in 48 hours, according to Justun Juelfs, the Kalispell division maintenance chief for the Montana Department of Roads.

According to the National Weather Service, 4.97 inches of rain had fallen in Hungry Horse since Saturday, with 4.39 inches in West Glacier, 6.39 inches near Coram and 5.26 inches near Martin City.

By comparison, Kalispell received 1.01 inches and Whitefish 1.09 inches, according to the Weather Service’s 48-hour rainfall totals as of 4 p.m. Monday.

Flathead County Office of Emergency Services Operations Manager Lincoln Chute said the county would staff the main closure on the North Fork Road 9 miles north of Columbia Falls.

Flooding on Blankenship Road, Lake Drive and Rabe Road also was preventing vehicles from getting through.

Local traffic was being allowed through as receding water levels allowed.

On Lake Drive, at least two feet of water were going over the dirt road and the east side of the road was eroding as it cascaded down a 30-foot-plus embankment Monday morning.

“It seems to surge, you know, it takes time when it rains on a mountain for the water to get down lower,” Chute said Monday afternoon. “On Rabe Road there would be no water coming across, then two hours later there’s six inches coming across the whole road and it looks like it’s going to wash the whole road off.”

He said more than a dozen homes in the Blankenship area had been impacted by water flowing into garages, basements and crawl spaces.

He expected additional structures were experiencing flooding on the west side of the North Fork Road at Lake Drive near Spoon Lake. Those homeowners were effectively cut off as floodwaters covered the lone access road.

“We’ve been getting the word out, but if they’re in there they probably can’t get out at this point,” Chute said.

Throughout the day, the county Road Department worked with sheriff’s deputies and responders from the Blankenship Fire Department and the Montana Department of Transportation to clear out culverts that had flooded with debris.

By Monday evening, officials were uncertain of the extent of damage to the roads, but Chute said Lake Drive and Rabe Road would require repairs. Juelfs added that most of the culvert blockage typically occurs as floodwaters recede.

“I’ll have to keep a real close eye on that so we don’t get things backing up again on us,” he said, adding that another two inches of rain were forecast over the next 12 to 24 hours. “If we can weather the storm and get through the next two-inch accumulation, we should be in better shape.”

In Glacier Park, a culvert two miles from Apgar overflowed Monday morning, sending water across Sun Road and prompting the closure, according to park spokesman Tim Rains.

“There are still winter weather warnings in effect,” he said. “The weather’s not looking like it’s going to improve anytime soon.”

At higher elevations, precipitation came as heavy snow — from 1 to 3 feet at higher elevations in Northwest Montana over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Rains said about six inches of snow had fallen by Monday morning on Going-to-the-Sun Road as low as Haystack Creek, and crews were unable to resume snowplowing work.

The west-side road along Hungry Horse Reservoir also was closed Monday after trees, mud and other debris clogged a culvert.

Flathead National Forest Engineer Gary Danczyk said crews were working with contractors to remove the debris, which was carried downhill from areas burned by wildfires in 2003.

“It’s just a few miles south of the dam,” Danczyk said. “All the recreational facilities on the west side are effectively cut off.”

Forest spokeswoman Janette Turk said the road would be closed until further notice.

“They’re still working hard on getting that culvert unplugged,” she said late Monday afternoon. “There is water flowing through it but not very well.”

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.